England announce Test squad for upcoming three-match tour to Pakistan

Merely a day post the completion of the series against Sri Lanka, the England & Wales Cricket Board have named a 17-member squad for their away series against Pakistan. 

While all of the names are regulars who have featured for the team in the longest format in their previous series, Durham's bowling all-rounder, Brydon Carse, and Essex's wicketkeeper-batter, Jordan Cox, are the uncapped players who have received a call-up. Eight players from the squad including the likes of Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jack Leach, and Rehan Ahmed will have another chance to deliver their top performances in Pakistan. Notably, they were a part of the previous Pakistan tour which England won by a 3-0 margin in 2022.

Ace spinner, Leach, who is currently toiling it out at Division One of the County Championship with Somerset, will be making a comeback in the red-ball side since the first Test of the five-match series against India. Rehan, the wily leg-spinner, who became the youngest men's cricketer to play Test cricket for England in December 2022, will be aiming to maximize the most out of the subcontinental conditions. 

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Besides, the lanky 6'7" left-arm pacer, Josh Hull, who made his debut appearance in the third and final game of the three-match series, is included in the squad as well for his first senior tour with England. Batter Zak Crawley was reintegrated into the Test setup after being sidelined since the West Indies series in July. The 26-year-old had incurred a fracture in his right little finger.

The regular Test skipper, Ben Stokes, is also incorporated as he continues his recuperation from a tear to his hamstring that kept him out of the recent Test series victory against Sri Lanka. He suffered the devastating injury while representing the Northern Superchargers in the recently concluded The Hundred. With England announcing their squad for the series already, all that is yet to be confirmed is the finalized venues for the series, something which the Pakistan Cricket Board will release later this week.

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England's squad for Test series versus Pakistan:

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jordan Cox, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Brydon Carse, Josh Hull, Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.